03.11.10

Young Brazilian designer Nelson Balaban has updated with some maravilloso new work. I like that he is staying away from boxing himself in with a specific style and approaching each project as a unique and individual effort. It makes you harder to define or single out but I think that is the way of the future. He also has work up at both Flickr and Behance for you to check out.

01.09.09

Wow, I am just utterly blown away by the talent of Brazilian designer/illustrator Nelson Balaban. Just amazing. Everything he creates is a work of art. It is like he is somehow hard-wired to artfully meld design and illustration in ways that you have to not only appreciate but respect. He is younger than I was I think before I even started working in the design and advertising field and I just cannot believe the things he produces. Stunning.

Oh and he has also just updated his website, Xtrabold with new and needless to say, unbelievably beautiful work.

03.25.08

I have written about Nelson Balaban, AKA Xtrabold in the past. He is an 18 year (yeah my jaw dropped too) old self-taught graphic artist currently based in Curitiba, Brazil. He currently works independently as a full-time freelancer because who really needs very much money when your 18.

For the past few months he has been featured in books and magazines spanning the globe and has received recognition from many members of the design community both in print and online. Computer Arts magazine (UK) recognized him as one of the hottest new talents for 2007/2008 in their “Young Guns” column.

His work possesses all the youth and vigor you would expect and is also highly digital as you would expect. It’s nice to see a few simple graphic works intertwined with his digital collages because you always wonder if young self taught designers such as Nelson are able to back their thick Photoshop work up with subtle typography. I am always leary of jumping on the bandwagon with young designers. Maybe it is just jealousy, but I have always been bothered by the fact that creative publications love to engage in youth worship just as much as the entertainment industry. Restraint, control and the respect for a good idea as opposed to a cool image usually come over time and the appreciation of such things tends to develop as experience and wisdom are slowly attained. Style often has very little to do with substance and is usually only relevant to shifting trends. The irony in style is that it often serves to alienate those ‘not in-the-know’ while something more simple and subtle can usually reach a much broader audience and stand the test of time, regardless of changing trends. I think a good designer should have an ability to shape-shift fluidly between potentially complex trendy styles and more restrained timeless subtlety. Being able to do so has a lot to do with longevity in the creative business and the ability keep earning a living.

After art directing at an agency off and on for a number of years, you look and seek out certain styles from young designers to accomplish a specific look for a client. It is always a toss up however as to how someone young and style heavy will handle a highly conceptual project. For someone of Nelson’s talent none of this may matter because he is able to create such jarring images making him a definite standout among his peers. His images are so original that I am sure he will have no trouble finding work. Hopefully he is being paid well and not being taken advantage of. At such a young age, and starting at such an already amazing level of talent, he is pretty close to a sure thing no matter which way you slice it. What the hell does a 30 year old codger like me know anyway, right?

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Off the record

05/18 SENDAK PASSES The brilliant author and illustrator Maurice Sendak passed away last week at the age of 83 but will no doubt be remembered for generations to come for his amazing books such as Where the Wild Things Are.

04/12 ZIMMERMAN FACES MURDER In a case we’ve been following closely there is finally what we think is some good news to report. George ZImmerman, the man accused of killing the innocent teenager Trayvon Martin has been taken into custody and charged with second degree murder. At last there is some justice.

12/16 HITCHENS DIES Outspoken author and pundit Christopher Hitchens passed away yesterday at the age of 62 after succombing to a long battle with cancer. His honest and bravado opinion that rarely favored one side versus the other but was instead often a cry for ‘reason’ will be missed.

11/23 BURZYNKSI CLINIC Is there an alternative, non-toxic treatment for cancer? Dr. Stanislaw R. Burzynski seems to think so and has been experiencing higher rate of success than the current accepted practice of treating cancer.